Derry planners ask developer to get Windham on board

By Adam SwiftUnion Leader Correspondent

DERRY — The Planning Board wants the developers of a subdivision that straddles the Derry-Windham town line to get assurances from Windham that it will take full responsibility for a cul-de-sac that stretches into Derry.

The H and B Homes Corporation, which is building a 95-home subdivision in Windham, also owns about five acres of property across the town line in Derry.

For a number of years, the developers have been looking at ways to access the Derry lot and tie it into the Windham subdivision.

In 2009, project engineer Joseph Maynard said developers made overtures to Derry about readjusting the town line with Windham, but Derry officials said it was a no-go.

The latest plan has been to bring a road from Windham into the Derry property and build a cul-de-sac in front of the projected Derry lots. About half of that cul-de-sac would be in Windham and the other half in Derry.

Earlier this year, Maynard appeared before the Zoning Board of Adjustment requesting a variance to subdivide the lots on the Derry acreage. The variance was needed because the proposed lots did not have proper frontage under Derry regulations.

However, the ZBA said it would not consider the variance unless the developers first got Planning Board approval for the cul-de-sac.

At a recent Planning Board hearing on the cul-de-sac, Maynard said the Windham Public Works Department had agreed to plow the Derry portion of the roadway in the winter.

Derry public works officials said they would rather see Windham take full responsibility for the roadway.

“It would make no practical sense to appropriate money and coordinate with Windham for a small piece of pavement,” said Mark L’Heureux, engineering coordinator of the Public Works Department.

If the developers secure an inter-municipal agreement between Derry and Windham, code enforcement officer Robert Mackey said they could then go back to the ZBA and request a variance regarding the frontage.